Bouchet Society Spotlight: Sarah N. Steiner

The Edward Alexander Bouchet Graduate Honor Society (Bouchet Society) is named for the first African American doctoral recipient in the United States (Physics, Yale University, 1876) and recognizes outstanding scholarly achievement, promotes diversity, and advances excellence in doctoral education and the professoriate. The society was formed in 2005 through a national chartre inagurated by Yale University and Howard University. The Rackham Graduate School at the University of Michigan has held a chapter since 2008.

Learn more about the Bouchet Society through this Q&A with one of its 2025 inductees: Sarah N. Steiner, a Ph.D. student in the cell and developmental biology department of the U-M Medical School.

How has the Bouchet Honor Society fueled your research and/or professional practice? 
Meeting and speaking with members of the Rackham chapter of the Bouchet Honor Society have helped me to better shape my professional communication to people in the sciences and beyond. Additionally, I feel that I’ve been able to make meaningful improvements to my outreach efforts for high school students through my connections with the Bouchet Honor Society inductees.

What do you value most about being a member of the Bouchet Honor Society?
I’ve met some truly fantastic people! My fellow inductees this year are amazing researchers, scientists, scholars, and human beings.

What advice might you give to Bouchet Society applicants?
I’d advise applicants to approach the application with as much sincerity as possible. It can sometimes feel difficult to put your deeply held beliefs onto paper, but it’s also very cathartic to know that your peers as an inductee to the Bouchet Honor Society are similarly accomplished and passionate.

Learn more about the Bouchet Society at U-M.